In a new study published in Translational Psychiatry, Depression Task Force member Dr. Huda Akil and her team at the University of Michigan used advanced technology to map neural activity across 66 brain regions in small animals when they are exposed to a stressful encounter with another individual. The test is relevant because it models how social stress can injure and affect our own brains.  The study breaks new ground by showing what happens in the healthy brain during its very first exposure to major stress. Akil shows there are network patterns which can reveal how the individual will tip in response to more stress in the future.  Will they be vulnerable and develop depressive disorder?  Or will their brain be resilient and withstand future stress hits?  This study is important because it may allow us to develop real tests which can predict whether someone will be susceptible to depression, even before they develop symptoms.

To read the full article in Translational Psychiatry, please click here.